CARPER Adam Smith travelled all the way from Devon to an undisclosed Oxfordshire pit and was rewarded with a 31.8.0 common carp.

He moved swims twice before locating some fish, baiting up a silted area just off a gravel bar with two gallons of maggots, plus broken boilies, and fished a 10mm Mainline Baits milky toffee pop-up over the top.

His reward was five carp in one night.

Another carper who made the long journey up to Oxfordshire from the south west was John Kneebone, from Cornwall.

John is a member of a local syndicate and spent four nights on the water, baiting up with maggot and Mainline New boilies, positioning his rig on a silted area.

He banked three carp – an upper double, a 22lb common and his best fish of the session, a 36.2.0 mirror.

  • FOR the second time in as many weeks, the rivers around Oxford were in flood and the Environment Agency had a flood watch in place.

It was taken off the rivers on Sunday, but by then the cold snap was well and truly under way.

I shall try and get out this week, despite the cold, with chub the target.

  • I HAD a phone call from Michael Baston, president and treasurer of the Oxford Preservation Society about last year’s fish kill in the Thames near Farmoor.

He tells me the fish were not killed in the Thames or Farmoor Reservoir, but in one of the hoppers in the channel going into the pumps.

They were killed by debris taken in from the river towards the pumps. Hopefully something is being done to prevent this type of incident happening again.

  • Richworth Linear Fisheries are offering half-priced tickets on all of their day ticket waters to the end of February. This means you can fish with three rods for £12.50 for 24 hours.
  • IF you have any news, views or photos, you can contact me on 01865 725606 or email agw@awebber20. orangehome.co.uk.